Tags: 21 weeks

Aloha! Welcome to Week 22!! We had our anatomy scan last week, which was awesome — it was really long and sooooo much fun to see so much of Foxlet in such close detail! The ultrasound tech said that everything looked perfect/normal (the best word you can hear!), and, quelling my last lingering fears that my 16-week elective ultrasound had been wrong, she says Foxlet is definitely a girl.

It’s crazy how much she looks like a, well, real baby now — she has little lips (I saw a cupid’s bow!) and nose and 10 little fingers and 10 little toes… I already can’t wait to meet her! In the meantime, I’ve been pouring all my budding mama-instincts into over-mothering Harry and Daxter instead.

Yep, that’s their new elevated dog bowl set, since my old man Harry (he’s 13!) has been having back problems/arthritis in his hind quarters, and it seems to flare up when he bends down to eat. My babieeeeeeees. <3

Anyway, on with the update, eh?,

Foxlet’s Size: Foxlet is the size of a papaya, a spaghetti squash, or a guinea pig. Which, honestly, seems huge! At my ultrasound last week, they said she was measuring exactly on track for how far along I am, and weighed 15 oz.

Weight Gained: I’m still stickin’ with the status quo — no gains or losses in the past few weeks, and still sitting around 10 pounds down in total (although I’m starting to wonder if I maybe was bloated or whatever when I logged my original pre-pregnancy weight, and that initial huge loss wasn’t really anything. ::shrug::)

Symptoms: Ugh, I got paaaaaaain, man. Nobody talks about how pregnancy, well, hurts! Between the stretching and expanding of my uterus, the boob pain as they grow to monstrous proportions, back pain, and a kind of general ache in my, er, crotchal region, this baby-baking business really isn’t a picnic. TMI? Weeeell, sorry, I’m just trying to prepare you the way nobody did for me!

Foxlet is also kicking and punching the crap out of my organs, which gives me all kinds of feelings. I mean, it’s amazing and reassuring and awesome to feel her inside me and know that she’s strong and doing well, but also totally weird and tbh, sometimes I kind of… hate it? I feel bad saying that, because I know that this life inside of me is a total miracle, and I should be grateful for each twinge and flip (and honestly, I am!), but it’s also a really foreign, alien feeling. Like, I guess I just get uncomfortable sometimes with this very literal reminder that there’s a human being in there.

On the bright side symptom-wise, my appetite is back and I actually get hungry these days! Of course, my uterus must be cramping up on my stomach because I can only eat so much in a sitting, but hey, I’ll take it! I mean, getting to enjoy food again is a really nice change of pace in my pregnancy.

I mean, the other day, after begging Sean to go to Chipotle for lunch, eagerly watching my order get made, and being super excited to eat it, I started crying because the second I stuck my fork into my burrito bowl, I didn’t want it anymore. Also, this video that I saw making its way around Facebook on Mother’s Day had me BAWLING for, oh man, I don’t even know how long. Watch at your own risk:

Cravings: My Hot Pocket craving has been replaced with Jimmy Dean Croissant Breakfast Sandwiches. Yes, it is very specific. They are delicious. I eat one every single morning.

Aversions: Nothing specific right now, incredibly! I actually ate pizza for the first time in like 5 1/2 months this past week, and other than still having trouble figuring out what I want to eat in general, nothing seems to terrible to me right now. I’m sure that will change quickly, but huzzah for the meantime!

Sleep: Le sigh. Sleep has been absolutely TERRIBLEEEEE lately. Insomnia, unable to get comfortable, having to sleep with 19293825834 pillows, being hyper-sensitive to all noise (including Harry’s nightly ritual of licking himself, ughhhhhhh), and waking up a bunch in the night. I’m hoping this is just a temporary symptom because I neeeeeeds to sleep.

Purchases: I’ve been keeping my promise not to do any window shopping in the baby aisle and it seems to be working! To fill my consumerist void, however, I have been filling my registry with all sorts of fun stuff, heh.

Life Happenings: Sean and I had the pleasure of attending my friend’s wedding in Culpeper a couple weekends ago, where I cried literally the second she started walking down the aisle and got soda-drunk in lieu of partaking in the bar.

Things have also been running full-throttle at work, with a different event every week and some big promos and whatnot in the works. I think I’m trying to cram in as much stuff as possible before I’m even bigger/more exhausted/feeling terrible again, lol. Good thing my job is the besssstttttt so it’s all fun even when there’s a ton going on!

Missing… SUSHIIIIIII. I got partial relief to my deep sushi cravings with some cooked rolls while out at lunch with my coworker, Kimberly, but hot damn do I miss my raw salmon and spicy tuna. Technically, I’ve read that eating raw sushi when pregnant is okay if it’s from a reputable place that you trust, but I guess I just feel like I’ll be too judged/it’s not worth the risk. We’ll see how long my mindset stays that way if the craving continues though!

Looking Forward to… getting our name choices narrowed down! I’ve had a top choice name in mind since long before getting pregnant, but I have a pretty lengthy list of additional names that I really like. I think I want to have something like a Top 3 figured out when I go into labor, and then see what feels right/fits her. I’m way too wishy-washy to fully commit to a name before seeing what she looks like… I just know I’d pull a Rachel from Friends and be all, “That’s not her name!”

I’ve got so much going on this month, I’m really glad that I’m feeling better. Lots of work stuff keeping me busy for this week and next, and then Memorial Day weekend brings another friend’s wedding, plus I’ll be headed back to visit my sister in Atlanta for our #sistermoon! Cheers!

Hi! I'm Gretchen: 29 years old, Whasian, and navigating life as a new mom to my daughter & old mom to my two mini schnauzers. I enjoy dyeing my hair, eating dumplings, playing the ukulele, and anything (everything!) Harry Potter-related. Thanks for stopping by!